Know Differences Between Mediclaim And Health Insurance
In today's time, people are very serious for themselves and the health of their loved ones. As when a health emergency appears, the first thing that is needed is a lump sum amount to meet the hospitalisation expenses. This comes in handy for your health insurance taken. But people often make many mistakes while buying health insurance.
One of the most common mistakes is to misunderstand mediclaim as health insurance. Both mediclaim and health insurance are very different. There are many terms confusing the two. Actually, buying an insurance policy is not the same as buying a mediclaim. Hence, it becomes very important to know the difference between these two.
What is Mediclaim?
A mediclaim policy is one that provides coverage on hospitalisation and treatment of specific diseases up to a specified limit. These medical expenses are settled in two ways - cashless or reimbursement. If one has cashless facility, they need not pay anything out of your pocket. Otherwise they will have to pay for the treatment, which will be reimbursed by the insurance company as per the limit prescribed by the policy. Generally the sum assured is less in case of mediclaim as compared to health insurance.
What is Health Insurance?
Health insurance is a more comprehensive policy and it covers much more than just hospitalisation. For example, one can opt for a single critical illness cover under a health insurance policy that provides coverage for various diseases like cancer, heart problems, kidney failure, etc. Critical illness is a defined benefit cover, which means that one will be paid a fixed amount as soon as they are diagnosed with the specified illness in a lump sum amount. One does not need to show any kind of hospital or other bills to avail this facility.
How their benefits differ?
| Mediclaim | Health Insurance |
| Provides immediate coverage from medical expenses for hospitalisation. | Provides coverage for pre and post hospitalisation expenses. |
| Cashless mediclaim policy will be directly payable for the expenses by the insurer. | Cashless policy is available with other benefits like outpatient benefit, maternity benefit, restoration benefit, etc. |
If one opts for Reimbursement, their money will be reimbursed by the insurer. | One can opt for a Family Floater Health Insurance plan to cover all family members under one collective health insurance policy. |
Both mediclaim and health insurance plans offer tax benefits under section 80D of the Income Tax Act. One should compare various health insurance plans and mediclaims offered by different companies on the basis of coverage, services, benefits and premiums.
